Dr. Bob: I asked this question a couple of months ago, with no response from you. I'm trying again.

What are your thoughts about using Androgel while one is battling prostatitis? No one I've spoken with in the medical community seems to know.

Is there any risk of exacerbating the prostatitis, or causing it, by using Andogel supplementation?

My prostatitis is abacterial -meaning that no bacterial cultures can be grown from my urine samples. I'v been suffering with this for over 4 months - two months on antibiotics did nothing.

Just wondered what your thoughts were on continuing to use Androgel during this time.

My most recent lab work: t-cells: 180; viral load: 5,000.

Response from Dr. Frascino

Hi,

Prostatitis for 4 months? Ouch! Have you seen a urologist? If not, you should! AndroGel (testosterone gel) will not adversely affect prostatitis. AndroGel should not be used in men with prostate cancer, but there are no contraindications that I'm aware of for men with prostatitis (inflammation) per se. Since you will be seeing a urologist soon (right?), you can double check with him or her.

You should also check in with your AIDS specialist. He/she might want to get an HIV resistance test to see if your current meds are your best option. It would be nice to drive your viral load to undetectable and push those T-cells up over 200.

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